Firefighters Discover 200 Marijuana Plants In Burning Hayward Home

HAYWARD (CBS SF) — Firefighters who responded to a one-alarm house fire in unincorporated Hayward Wednesday night discovered a marijuana grow operation and more than 200 marijuana plants, a fire official said.

Hayward Fire Department Capt. LaShon Earnest said no one was injured in the blaze at 23201 Lori Way, which was reported at about 7:31 p.m. Wednesday and controlled just six minutes later.

Earnest said that when firefighters arrived at the 1,200-square-foot, four-bedroom home they found an electrical meter arcing outside the home’s garage.

No one was home at the time, he said.

The only damage was to the meter and a wall where it was located, Earnest said. The marijuana wasn’t burned, he said.

The fire started inside the garage and it appears that it was an electrical blaze caused by tampering with an electrical outlet that resulted in a short, Earnest said.

Each room in the house contained marijuana that was in a different stage of growth, he said.

Once firefighters controlled the fire, they contacted the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office to investigate the marijuana grow operation, Earnest said.

Sheriff’s spokesman Sgt. J.D. Nelson said he didn’t have information about whether anyone has been arrested for the grow operation.

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